Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 765: Night Walk
After arriving at Baijia Village, he left the Fourth Prince Xiaohuashen, Xiao Cheng, as well as Zhang Chen and Yang Hao. He then sent Luo Sanhe and Zhang Xiaohai, a student in the intermediate class of the public school who he believed had great potential, to Hejiatun, which was less than five miles away. After giving some instructions to another village chief, Zhang Shou immediately set out for the return journey.
On the way there, the three carriages were packed with people, plus a dozen guards. It took an hour and a half in the weather that was almost the coldest time of the year. On the way back, the three carriages were empty and only Zhang Shou was left. He almost wanted to call Ah Liu and the other guards to take turns to rest and keep out the cold and wind.
However, before he could finish his words, Ah Liu spoke up first: "Master, since we are not in a hurry on the way back, why not go slower? The twelve of us will be divided into two groups of six, and we will take turns to rest in the two cars and recuperate. Then, as we discussed with the young lady before, we will rest at her farm between Tongzhou and the capital."
Even though Zhu Tingfang was in charge of the Five Cities Military Division and had asked the emperor for permission to keep a pass through the Xuanwu Gate in the inner city, so that the inner and outer cities could communicate at any time and suppress any incidents immediately, it was impossible to rashly open any gate in the outer city of the capital in the middle of the night. Not to mention that Zhang Shou was his brother-in-law, even the third prince, the crown prince, could not pass without the emperor's order.
Even more seriously, even if the emperor himself slipped out of the city in disguise and missed the time when the city gates were closed, he should still find a place to stay outside for a night. Otherwise, if the noise of opening the city gates was too loud, he would be scolded by the ministers...
Of course, as far as Zhang Shou knew, even with the emperor's absurdity in the past, he had never done such a thing. So since he planned to flee before Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince could react, he had no plans to go into the city, walk at night, and then stay at one of Zhu Ying's dowry farms. That was a decision he had made long ago after discussing it with Zhu Ying.
Although Zhu Hong wanted to argue, at least wanted to accompany Ah Liu, Ah Liu choked him with one sentence and he couldn't refute: "I don't need to, in terms of night vision, you and them can't compare with me. In terms of endurance, you and them can't compare with me either."
Zhu Hong had seen Ah Liu's night archery, and he had also seen Ah Liu's horsemanship. Even the gifted eldest son, who was taught by a famous teacher, could hardly be his opponent in these two aspects, not to mention Ah Liu who was more specialized in swordsmanship.
Furthermore, he had heard that Ah Liu was picked up by his own Master Hua Qi from a pile of horse thieves on the grassland, and it might be common for him to sleep on a horse. There was no need for him to compete with others, so after thinking about it, he agreed.
As the wind grew stronger that night and the temperature seemed to be getting lower and lower, Ah Liu was patrolling outside the carriage with a serious face. Zhang Shou, who occupied the carriage alone, wanted to tell people not to be too nervous, but Ah Liu seemed to know what he meant. When he saw Zhu Hong dividing people into groups, he quietly rode to Zhang Shou's carriage and said something very serious.
"Master, I promised Miss that this trip must be safe and sound."
Ah Liu said this simply, and even kept the old name for Zhu Ying in a moment of desperation, but Zhang Shou finally gave up the idea of letting him get on the bus in the face of the boy's serious tone. He also knew that although this was the border of the capital, it was impossible for the public security to be so good that no one would pick up things on the road or lock their doors at night, let alone walk at night.
Even though his enemies are supposed to be dead now, there is a saying that a centipede is still alive even after death.
The deposed queen and the eldest prince were definitely dead, but the second prince's shipwreck was uncertain. Moreover, how could he be sure that his enemies were only the mother and her son? For example, was someone like Kong Daxueshi considered an enemy? Was Jiang Gelao, who had retired , as well as those who held different political views and were hostile to him, it was even more uncertain.
Next, sitting in the spacious and somewhat deserted carriage, as the carriage moved forward and bumped, he couldn't help but chuckle as he thought about Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince who were about to spend at least half a month on a teaching trip in the countryside, and Luo Sanhe who had come to him. He thought about how they would overcome all difficulties, cross the river by feeling the stones, and then begin their first journey as teachers in their lives.
Thinking back to when he was teaching those kids in the village, it was a mess, but in the end, the only ones he really brought out were Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai. Baijia Village and Hejiatun are both bigger than Rongshui Village. I wonder if these three people can gain anything in a month.
As he was thinking, Zhang Shou, who had been forcing himself to stay awake, gradually became sleepy and fell asleep unknowingly.
In his sleep, he vaguely felt the sound of someone talking outside, and there seemed to be some strange noises, but since Ah Liu was there, with Zhang Yuan's guards who were trained by Ah Liu, as well as Zhu Hong and others who came with Zhu Ying as a dowry, he was already a little confused and simply closed his eyes and continued to sleep.
Anyway, even if the sky falls, if these people can't cope with it, adding him to the mix will not help the situation at all, and may even make things worse. It's better to continue sleeping... However, he really fell asleep!
When he opened the car door and lifted the cotton curtain inside, he found that Zhang Shou was wrapped in a thick fur coat and was sleeping soundly. He was about to report something that had just happened, but he had to swallow the words back.
Although he found out initially that these were a few petty thieves who were said to be starving and planning to rob a group of people and then become bandits, and it was not a long-planned and sinister design, he and Zhu Hong and others handled the situation very quickly. However, he really didn't expect Zhang Shou to be able to fall asleep - after all, the noise of shouting and fighting outside was still very obvious.
Zhu Hong behind him also saw Zhang Shou sleeping soundly. After being stunned for the first time, he couldn't help but laugh softly, "It is said that you cannot allow others to snore beside your bed... If you ask me, Sixth Brother, our Master can fall asleep anytime and anywhere as long as you are here. Because he has nothing to worry about."
In the past, Ah Liu viewed Zhu Hong as a sparring partner. But when it was confirmed that Zhu Hong would come with Zhu Ying as a dowry and work at Zhang Garden, he changed his view of him to a colleague. And when Zhu Ying personally said that he, as the housekeeper, could take charge of the people who came with her dowry, he changed the mode of interaction with him to that of a boss and a subordinate.
After all, in the boy's mind, friends do not exist for the time being.
But at this moment, hearing Zhu Hong's words, Ah Liu suddenly felt that this opponent, colleague, and subordinate, whom he had always thought was pretty good, really had good taste. For a moment, even his gaze towards people seemed much softer, and then he hummed, and quietly lowered the curtain and closed the car door again.
After doing all this and climbing back onto the horse, Ah Liu looked at the bandits tied up in a string behind the horse and said calmly, "Let's go, speed up a bit, and get to the farm quickly so that the young master can have a good rest."
Zhu Hong understood that if the speed was increased, the guys tied behind the horses would suffer a lot, because human legs could not run faster than horse legs. In addition, in such a dark night, people would surely become a bunch of rolling gourds, and finally fall to the ground and be dragged all the way. Torn flesh would be the least of their injuries, and broken bones would be the most likely.
However, he could not possibly plead for these bandits. After all, according to the law, these guys were no longer ordinary thieves, but were classified as robbers! Robbery cases were different from theft cases. Nine out of ten were sentenced by the government. Even if they were not executed immediately, they would either be sentenced to life imprisonment or exile three thousand miles away.
After the culprit of the robbery was caught on the spot by the victim, he was killed or injured on the way to the police station... This was considered normal loss, and killing the person when dealing with the thief was completely legitimate defense. Not to mention the government, even the censors had no right to comment. After all, they also seized some crude bows and arrows and machetes and other weapons, which were enough as evidence to make these guys spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Having said that, when they really started to travel again, they found that although Ah Liu's speed was slightly faster than before, he was still just trotting. Zhu Hong couldn't help but sigh in his heart that Ah Liu was cold on the outside but kind on the inside, and would not take human lives lightly - even the lives of a few thieves.
He didn't know that as Liu walked forward, he kept looking at the carriage where Zhang Shou was. He was only thinking about one thing, which was how to make the journey fast and smooth at night without waking up Zhang Shou who was sleeping soundly in the carriage.
Because of this, Liu kept the driving speed relatively slow along the way, slightly slower than when he came.
Even so, the thieves who were tied to the horses and dragged along still suffered a lot. The weak ones couldn't run any longer and fell to the ground, letting the horses run away. Some of the thieves who were still strong managed to keep up for a while, but were dragged along again. Then they struggled to get up and catch up when the horses slowed down, fearing that they would be dragged to death...
When they finally heard a voice from the front saying that they had arrived, the struggling thieves breathed a sigh of relief, and the guards who had been blown by the cold wind all the way were also relieved. On the way back, the original rotation was also terminated because of the robbery. Now they were cold from head to toe, and they only hoped that the farm would get the news and make all preparations from hot water to beds.
However, when Zhu Hong saw two huge and bright lanterns hanging on the gate of Zhuangzi's courtyard, he knew that he didn't have to worry. Sure enough, the gate seemed to have heard the noise of their carriage and soon someone came out to ask. After he revealed his identity and took out the token waist card, there was a commotion inside.
In an instant, the gate opened and several men came out hurriedly. Some of them went forward to lead the horses, while others went around to the back to untie the ropes tied to the horses. They quickly tied up the petty thieves one by one without any of them asking any questions.
Faced with such a group of well-trained servants, Ah Liu naturally no longer worried about how to take care of the horses and other people, and went straight to Zhang Shou's carriage. He opened the door and lifted the curtain as he did at the beginning, and he saw Zhang Shou still sleeping soundly inside, with no intention of waking up because of the noise outside.
Seeing this, he thought for a moment and blew a breath on his hand, rubbed it vigorously, and then quietly got into the car and put his hand on Zhang Shou's forehead. Sure enough, although he had warmed his hands, Zhang Shou still woke up with a start.
"Well, are we home? Why is it so cold..."
Ah Liu sighed helplessly at Zhang Shou, who was obviously still a little grumpy after waking up, and then said in a stern tone: "Young Master, this is the Young Madam's farm, we've arrived." You have been sleeping all the way, you are too unalert.
Although Ah Liu didn't say the last sentence, Zhang Shou had been with people for so many years, how could he not hear the hidden meaning? He was stunned for a moment and thought carefully, then he remembered, and yawned immediately: "With you and others here, what's the point of me being alert? Even if something happens, can I beat others or run faster than others? I might as well get a good night's sleep and recharge my energy!"
Zhu Hong, who was accompanying the village head, heard something similar to what he had said before and smiled knowingly. After he came forward, he introduced the village head who had served in the Duke of Zhao's mansion and was now married to Zhu Ying. However, he did not expect that after the village head had greeted him with a smile on his face, he said something that surprised him.
"It was late at night, and I didn't expect that the eldest lady would come first, and then the son-in-law would also arrive. Although someone came to inform me of this in advance, I still feel like I'm dreaming!"
"Yingying is here too?"
"The young lady is here?"
Zhang Shou and Ah Liu asked the same question almost at the same time. After receiving the affirmative answer from the village head, the master and servant went to see Zhu Hong at the same time. As a result, they saw a truly bitter face: "Sir, Sixth Brother, I really didn't know that the young lady was here. The young lady didn't say a word before, and this damn guy didn't say a word to me either."
The village head then realized that his daughter had sneaked out. After thinking about how Zhu Hong addressed Zhang Shou, he immediately realized his biggest mistake and quickly changed his words, crying out for justice: "God and earth, I thought you knew, and I thought the young master knew too. The young lady had gone to bed a long time ago, and we didn't dare to disturb her..."
If Zhu Ying had really arrived, it would be strange if she had a good rest even though it was late at night! Zhang Shou patted his head and suddenly lost all sleepiness. He was too lazy to listen to so many explanations and interrupted directly: "Where is Yingying now? Take me there!"
Before he caught up, Ah Liu suddenly stopped and whispered a few words to Zhu Hong, entrusted him with the task of dealing with the bunch of small thieves, and then hurriedly turned around to chase Zhang Shou. For him, confirming that the village head was not lying and that Zhu Ying really came was much more important than those robbers.
So, when he saw Zhu Ying, wrapped in a thick cloak and rushing out like a gust of wind, he stopped without hesitation. Especially when he saw Zhu Ying smiling and throwing herself into Zhang Shou's arms, he picked up the village head who was ruining the view and turned around and left. However, the silver bell-like laughter still entered his ears.
"Ah Shou, are you surprised? Are you surprised? Mom and I had already agreed on this, and we came here specially to wait for you!"
"It's more of a shock than a surprise! Yingying, I'm going back tomorrow, can't you just wait for me at home?"
